Concern network

The Concern Network shares verified information to alert medical transport programs when an accident/incident has occurred. Both air and ground programs are encouraged to participate. If you have questions, contact CONCERN Coordinator David Kearns at (800) 525 3712 or www.concern-network.org

	Date	Program	Vendor	Weather	Vehicle	Passengers/Injuries
	12/3/06	UMass Memorial Life	Air Methods	Clear, not a factor	EC145	No injuries, no patient
		Flight (Worcester, MA)
			Description:
			During recent construction on a new helipad parking area, two trenches had been cut to allow the placement of drains to remove collecting rain water. At the end of the day, the construction workers placed large pieces of plywood, overlapped and nailed together, to cover the trenches and flagged with caution tape. Area was inspected and deemed safe. Shortly after, the aircraft departed on a patient mission without incident. After dropping the patient off at another facility, the aircraft was returning to base, and on short final, the PIC noted that several of the plywood sheets had come loose and were in flight over the parking spot. The pilot immediately initiated a go-around and landed on an adjacent helipad without further incident. After landing, the helipad was shut down until all pieces of plywood were removed. Further investigation showed that the plywood “flew” approximately 30 yards into an adjacent parking lot. The hospital has since done a complete investigation and has met with all contractors to avoid any further possible incidents.
	12/7/06	Life Flight (Toledo, OH)	CJ Systems	Clear, not a factor	A-109E	No injuries, no patient
			Description:
			During cruise flight at night, the aircraft encountered a large flock of seagulls. Two of the birds hit the copilot windshield, shattering the plexiglass, and struck the nurse who was seated in the copilot's seat. The nurse had a helmet on with visor down and was uninjured. No other occupants were injured. The aircraft landed without further incident.
	12/22/06	Travis County STAR	Part 135	Clear, not a factor	EC145	Pilot, flight paramedic, pediatric specialty team/no injuries
		Flight (Austin, TX)	Description:
			STAR Flight 2 departed at 0620 local time to Waco Providence Hospital, with flight paramedic and two members of the Children's Hospital of Austin pediatric transport specialty team aboard. Weather at the time was VFR for the entire route, with good visibility and 8 knots of wind from the southeast. At 0634 the crew experienced an audible pop, simultaneous with moderate to severe airframe vibration. The vibration was audible in the cockpit and aft cabin as well. About 5 seconds after the onset of vibration, the tail rotor gearbox chip caution light came on. No other secondary indications were noted. Austin Approach Control and Austin-Travis County EMS Communications were informed of the problem, that the crew was aborting the mission and would be landing at the Georgetown (Texas) airport. On arrival at the airport, an uneventful nohover landing in a grassy area, touching down at ∼0637 local time. Shutdown and egress were normal. Initial postflight inspection revealed a dynamic weight missing from one of the tail rotor blades. It appeared initially that the mounting spindle for the weight had broken. Additionally, the hinge pin on the intermediate gearbox access hatch was displaced about 3 inches upward from its normal position. No other abnormalities were noted at that time. Follow-up to the STAR Flight incident of December 17, 2006. An Alert Service Bulletin, #BK117C-2-64A-002, has been issued by Eurocopter for MBB BK117 C-2s with specific serial numbers. See bulletin for details.
	12/23/06	Texas LifeStar	Part 135	Clear, not a factor	Bell 407	Pilot, flight nurse, flight paramedic/no injuries
		(Greenville, TX)
			Description:
			While returning from Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas to the Greenville base, the pilot reported an engine chip light and initiated a precautionary landing to the Garland heliport. During the descent, the engine oil pressure indication was lost, and the pilot executed an autorotation to a parking with no injuries or damage to the aircraft.
	1/2/07	Life Flight (Danville, PA)	Keystone Helicopter	Clear, not a factor	S76A	Pilot, flight nurse, flight paramedic/no injuries
			Description:
			While in cruise flight at night during a near full moon phase, the aircraft apparently hit a large bird. A loud thump was noted by the PIC and medical crew. There was no noticeable loss of control or change in rotor dynamics. The crew aborted the flight and returned uneventfully back to the departure airport in St College, PA. The postflight inspection revealed significant damage and blade debonding to the leading edge of one of the main rotor blades approximately 8 feet from the hub. There was also minor damage to the horizontal stabilizer with a position and strobe light missing from the aircraft.
	1/15/07	Life Flight Network	Aero Air	IMC	Aero Commander	2 Pilots, flight nurse, flight paramedic, patient/no injuries
		(Portland, OR)
			Description:
			On the approach into Hillsboro, the pilot was unable to reduce the right engine horsepower for the descent and landing. The approach clearance was cancelled, and the crew discussed the condition with company maintenance personnel on the ground via radio. After limited troubleshooting, the captain opted to perform a precautionary engine shutdown and divert the flight to Portland International (due to the fair-to-poor braking action reported at the Hillsboro airport). The flight crew secured the right engine and flew an instrument approach to the Portland airport. The flight landed without further incident; the problem was later determined to be a failed fuel control unit.
	1/24/07	Air Trek Air Ambulance	Part 135	Light snow, 25 degrees	Citation II C-550	2 pilots, flight nurse, flight therapist/no injuries
		(Punta Gorda, FL)
			Description:
			The aircraft landed on a snow-covered runway with less than reported braking action. The aircraft went off the end of the runway, striking the localizer equipment. The flight team was treated for minor injuries and released from the local hospital. They have returned to the base.
	1/24/07	Stanford Life Flight	Air Methods	Clear, not a factor	BK117-C1	Pilot, flight nurse, pediatric specialty team, patient/no injuries
		(Stanford, CA)
			Description:
			During cruise flight, 20 miles from destination, the master caution and HYD 2 segment light illuminated. The gauge on the overhead panel indicated 0 pressure. No loss of control authority was experienced, and the pilot elected to land at the nearest airport. A call was made to the base hospital communications center to advise of the unscheduled landing, and an ambulance was immediately dispatched to meet the aircraft at the airport. The medical crew took the patient by ground ambulance to the destination hospital without incident. The mechanic found an electrical connection common to both the pressure indicator and the low-pressure warning light to be the problem. It was corrected, and the aircraft was returned to service.
	2/4/07	CareFlight (Missoula, MT)	Omni Flight	Clear, not a factor	AS350B3	Pilot, 2 flight nurses, flight medic/no injuries
			Description:
			While in cruise flight en route to scene call, crew heard a loud noise followed by leftward yaw. Pilot declared an emergency and successfully landed aircraft at KMSO without incident.
	2/6/07	Benefis Mercy Flight,	Metro Aviation	Clear, not a factor	King Air 200	Pilot Vince Kirol, Flight Nurse Darcy Dengel, Flight Paramedic Paul Erickson/fatal
		(Great Falls, MT)
			Description:
			At 21:04 MST, Mercy Flight 2, a fixed-wing aircraft en route to Bozeman, MT, to transport a head injury back to Great Falls, stopped transmitting Outerlink tracking data. The aircraft was 4 minutes from their destination. Five minutes later, a phone search was conducted without success. The phone search was repeated after a second air tracking program listed their ETA as 21:23. This time the ground ambulance meeting the aircraft reported hearing 9–1–1 calls of a plane crash in the area. The communication center initiated its PAIP team at this time to assist in the search. Last latitude and longitude were called into the Gallatin County 9–1–1 office to assist SAR teams being called in. A short time later aircraft wreckage was discovered where the Outerlink track was lost. Ground conditions and remote location delayed rescue crews; at 23:35 the Gallatin County Sheriff called in to report N45MF had crashed with no survivors.
	Date not given in report	Angel One		Rain	2004 International	EMT, RN, RRT/no injuries
		(Little Rock, AR)
			Description:
			Neonatal critical care transport team was en route to Batesville, AK, for a neonatal patient. While traveling on the interstate a pickup in front of the ambulance traveling in the same direction hydroplaned on the wet roads and spun clockwise and struck the right front fender, passenger side steps, and the patient compartment of the ambulance. This forced the ambulance off of the interstate into the median, where the ambulance struck a guardrail and caused damage to the left front fender, a flat tire, and the driver's side steps to detach from the ambulance. No patient was on board at the time of the accident. The ambulance was operating in nonemergency mode. Another neonatal team was dispatched to complete the transport.
	Date not given in report	University of Michigan	MarLin Air	Clear, not a factor	Citation II	No injuries, patient on board
		Survival Flight
			Description:
			Just after lift off from Marquette, MI, with a multiple trauma patient on board, the crew was informed by the pilots that the landing gear was in the “locked down position” and would not retract. A decision was made among the medical crew and pilots to continue the transport after it was determined that it was completely safe to do so and that a lower altitude and slightly slower transport time would have no adverse effect on the patient outcome. Contingency plans were developed at that time, taking under consideration fuel and distance to transport the patient with little or no delay in the overall transport. On inspection it was determined that there was a malfunction with the “squat switch” that registers weight on the landing gear, thus overriding the ability to retract the gear. Due to ice buildup, the switch was frozen and subsequently registered weight on the landing gear despite being airborne. The malfunction was quickly identified and repaired. The aircraft was back in service shortly thereafter.
	Date not given in report	PennSTAR Flight Team	Other service	Clear, not a factor	S-76	No injuries, patient on board
		(Philadelphia, PA)
			Description:
			At approximately 2300 hours, PennCOMM was notified via telephone by another flight program's dispatch center that one of their aircraft was inbound with an interfacility patient to the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center helipad with an approximate ETA of 5 minutes. The inbound aircraft's communication center was immediately informed that the helipad was occupied by a PennSTAR aircraft that had just completed a mission and that the inbound aircraft would need to wait for the PennSTAR aircraft to depart before landing. The PennSTAR crew immediately proceeded to the aircraft and began preflight procedures. Perimeter helipad light- ing and rotating beacons were operational, but flood lighting on the pad was turned off to preserve night vision for the departing aircraft crew. The flight nurse, who was standing fire-watch at the 2 o’clock position, noticed the inbound aircraft's landing lights approaching over the city and assumed the aircraft would maintain a safe distance away. The PennSTAR pilot had com- pleted #1 engine start-up, was beginning the engine start cycle on the 2nd engine, and had all strobes and anti-collision lights illuminated. The flight nurse noticed the inbound aircraft approaching and then crossing the plan of the helipad. The flight nurse attempted to signal the incoming aircraft first by waving arms, then by shining a flashlight into the cockpit of the approaching aircraft. Simultaneously, the PennSTAR Communication Technicians attempted radio contact, without success, with the aircraft on both the PennSTAR and Philadelphia aviation radio frequencies and by rapidly flashing the perimeter helipad lighting. The inbound aircraft was directly overhead of the PennSTAR aircraft when they initiated a go-around departure. Postincident mechanical inspection revealed no damage to the PennSTAR aircraft. A debriefing of this incident was conducted with the aviation management of both services and several fundamental operational mandates were reinforced. The co-pilot of the inbound aircraft indicated that the reflective tape on the flight nurse's helmet was the first indication of a problem and was what prompted the go-around. This incident reveals several operational considerations:
			• The absolute necessity of establishing radio contact with the receiving facility; no radio contact was made to PennCOMM from the in-bound aircraft
			• The necessity of direct aircraft communications
			• The importance of visually confirming a clear pad and establishing visual references, at night, before landing
			• The importance of reflective markings on uniforms/helmets
			• The importance of having a crewmember outside the aircraft during start-up. The quick, decisive actions of the PennSTAR flight nurse and communication technicians were instrumental in averting a disaster.